CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39: HEAVEN-FACING SECT

The City Guard Army worked very efficiently.

As soon as Zhao Yi’s carriage returned to the mansion, the patrolling officer delivered the testimony of the errand runner.

After reading the secret letter, Zhao Yi couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

Unexpected, yet reasonable.

The one who poisoned was a descendant of the Ancient Tomb that the protagonist and the old monk had been keeping an eye on.

The protagonist’s actions of inquiring about the Ancient Tomb and collecting materials for breaking the formation were discovered by the Guardian of the Ancient Tomb.

This poisoning was to silence him!

What surprised Zhao Yi was not the poisoning of the protagonist, but the information about that tomb.

Zhao Yi had guessed wrong before.

The old monk had mentioned that the Ancient Tomb was not someone’s mausoleum, but a branch relic of a cultivation sect called "Heaven-Facing Sect."

That protective great formation was actually their mountain-guarding formation!

Zhao Yi had previously speculated which powerful cultivator was so extravagant that the formation’s core used a Dragon Egg as its eye.

If it’s a branch of the Heaven-Facing Sect, then it’s not surprising!

Zhao Yi was not unfamiliar with the name Heaven-Facing Sect.

The Heaven-Facing Sect was the largest cultivation sect in the Cultivation Realm a thousand years ago.

With countless disciples, the Heaven-Facing Sect controlled more than half of the cultivation resources in the Cultivation Realm, their prominence rivaled that of the present-day Great Xia Dynasty!

Later, Zhao’s ancestor emerged from obscurity and established the Great Xia Dynasty.

The secular dynasty gradually transitioned from being a subsidiary of cultivation sects to a competitor for resources.

Ultimately, the Heaven-Facing Sect and the Great Xia Dynasty battled each other.

In one battle, the Heaven-Facing Sect was annihilated.

The Great Xia Dynasty was promoted to the Great Xia Dynasty, taking over from the Heaven-Facing Sect, officially starting a rule over the entire continent for over a thousand years.

During the first five hundred years of the Great Xia Dynasty’s rule, remnants of the Heaven-Facing Sect’s disciples still rebelled, and the Imperial Clan Court and Xuanzhen Temple conducted large-scale purges several times; in the latter five hundred years, those people’s news gradually disappeared.

Zhao Yi thought the Heaven-Facing Sect was extinct, but unexpectedly, right under the nose of the Zhao royal family in Shengjing City, remnants of the Heaven-Facing Sect were causing trouble, like a centipede that refuses to die even after being severed!

Huang Ying had already read the secret report.

Seeing Zhao Yi deep in thought, she asked, "Master, should we report to the Imperial Clan Court?"

Zhao Yi waved his hand: "The City Guard Army is directly managed by the Imperial Clan Court. Those old fellows must have already received the news; they will handle it."

After speaking, Zhao Yi looked at Yao Qing standing below, and asked expressionlessly, "Shopkeeper Yao, shouldn’t we settle our accounts?"

Yao Qing’s body slightly trembled.

She stiffened her neck and said, "Kill or flay, do as you please!"

"Very well!" Zhao Yi applauded approvingly.

He looked at Yao Qing, surprised: "I thought you would renege, but unexpectedly, Shopkeeper Yao turned out to be trustworthy. In that case, I will not be polite!"

After finishing, Zhao Yi instructed Huang Ying: "Arrange for Shopkeeper Yao to bathe, and retrieve my previously treasured fine wine. Tonight, I want to enjoy wine and flowers."

Huang Ying agreed respectfully, smiling as she gestured for Yao Qing to follow her.

"Shopkeeper Yao, please come with me!"

Yao Qing’s face changed, and a cold gleam flashed in her eyes.

She would not die cheaply to this person.

Moreover, before dying, she wanted to drag this bastard to the grave!

Yao Qing slightly moved her body, and over a dozen terrifying pressures suddenly descended from the sky, pressing her to her knees in an instant!

Bang!

Yao Qing’s head hit the ground heavily, her face full of terror.

Too terrifying!

She was a fourth-level expert in the Separation and Reunion Realm, able to walk horizontally in the Cultivation Realm, at least self-protected with ease!

However, under those terrifying pressures, she had no thought of resistance at all.

Ascension Realm, eighth level!

And there were over a dozen!

Yao Qing’s lips trembled, her expression horrified, her heart filled with dread!

An expert of the Ascension Realm could definitely establish a sect and become a Grandmaster in the Cultivation Realm.

Yet in this mansion, experts of the Ascension Realm were merely in the role of guards.

And this was only a prince!

The old emperor had a total of nine sons, plus those princes and nobles, how many Ascension Realm guards did the entire royal family have?

The Great Xia royal family’s foundation ran so deep it was simply despairing!

The terrifying pressure dissipated, but Yao Qing remained prostrate on the ground, frightened to the core, her legs too weak to stand.

Zhao Yi did not notice any abnormalities.

But from Yao Qing’s reaction, he could roughly guess what had happened.

Zhao Yi nodded: "It seems Shopkeeper Yao has realized the situation. Go and bathe and change clothes."

Hearing this, Yao Qing finally snapped back to reality, trembling as she climbed up from the ground.

At her side, Huang Ying saw her legs were weak, supported her, and kindly reminded:

"Shopkeeper Yao, our master has little patience. You’d better not resist; if you anger him and spoil his mood, he really will kill your entire family."

"Even if not for yourself, think of your nephew who is a monk at West Mountain Temple!"

"You should have heard of what he’s done, right?"

"You saw today at the restaurant, if not for our master ordering intervention, that monk would already be dead from poison."

"Look how kind our master is. Even after what that monk did to him, he still didn’t watch him die without helping."

"If you serve our master well, maybe he’ll let that monk go, and you’ll have backing in the future. Isn’t that better than dying or living?"

Yao Qing was slightly dumbfounded.

She felt something was wrong with Huang Ying’s words but couldn’t pinpoint where.

Yao Qing was silent.

Seeing her no longer resistant, Huang Ying took her hand, smiling as she led her to bathe.

Zhao Yi watched from the side, impressed.

Huang Ying’s mouth could really deceive anyone!

Yao Qing was sold by her and still counting money for her.

If she opened a brothel, she’d definitely be the top madam in the world!

Just as Huang Ying left, a guard hurriedly entered from outside.

The guard cupped his fists to Zhao Yi and said, "Your Highness, someone outside has sent a message."

"What message?" Zhao Yi asked.

The guard replied, "The messenger is a beggar. He claims to be a friend of the girl who came back with you today. He brought a token, requesting to meet that girl at the South Street Market."

As the guard spoke, he held out a piece of brown bamboo, presenting it to Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi looked at the bamboo piece but did not reach out to take it.

A friend of the little poison?

Zhao Yi sneered.

The little poison’s friends were all beasts of the mountains and forests.

What beggar friend could there be?

Even with his toe, Zhao Yi could deduce that the beggar must have been sent by the protagonist!

Although that item appeared to be just an ordinary piece of bamboo, since it was related to the protagonist, it certainly wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

Zhao Yi absolutely wouldn’t touch it easily.

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Yi waved his hand: "Send the token over. If she wants to go out, don’t stop her."

The guard respectfully said: "As ordered!"

Zhao Yi lightly tapped his fingers on the desk a few times, finally making a decision.

"The human heart is most intolerant of tests!"

"Rather than relying on others’ loyalty for the future, it’s better to grasp things in your own hands from the start."

After speaking, Zhao Yi’s eyes flashed with a cold light.

"Keep an eye on them; I want to know everything that happens when they’re together!"

In the main hall, it was as calm as usual.

As if nothing had changed.

ps: Seeking bookmarks and continuous reading!

pps: Thanks to all the lords for their affection and favor. Although the editor repeatedly emphasizes that only two Chapters can be updated daily, otherwise it affects recommendations, the lords’ enthusiasm is overwhelming, so I’ll add one more Chapter each day first, and keep adding if the editor doesn’t notice.

Once again, thank you for the support, I will continue to strive hard and not let the bosses down!